1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device opening-and-closing system that is mounted in a movable carrier such as an aircraft and a train, and is operable to open and close the display device between a stowage position and a view position (use position).
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, a display device is provided above passengers' seats and/or on the back surface of a backrest of a passenger's seat in a movable carrier, particularly, in an aircraft so as to display, as an in-flight entertainment service, contents such as movies and flight information indicating, for example, an actual location.
A display device provided on the back surface of a backrest of a passenger's seat is for personal use, whereas display devices provided above passengers' seats can be each shared and viewed by several passengers.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display device which is provided above passengers' seats in an aircraft. In FIG. 5, a display device 420, which is designed so as to be provided above passengers' seats 410, is stowed in a stowage position 421 in a cabin top inner surface portion 440 when the display device 420 is not used, so as to ensure a space above the passengers' seats 410 and safety for passengers 430. When the display device 420 is used, the display device is opened, and held in a view position 422 to display a video image.
For this type of display device, a liquid crystal display is used in many cases. In consideration of the characteristics of a view angle for the liquid crystal display, the display needs to be opened such that the view position is 90 degrees or more away from the stowage position. Therefore, in order to hold the display device in the view position, a drive shaft needs to have mounted thereto a retaining mechanism, such as a clutch or a brake, for holding the display device.
On the other hand, this type of display device needs to normally operate, with certainty, under a certain amount of shaking, while the display device needs to be closed into the stowage position for safety when at least a predetermined amount of force is applied to the display device from behind the display device, for example, when a person or any other object collides against the display device, because the top of the cabin is lower at the view position for the display device.
An example in which a focus is placed on influence of shaking of the movable carrier is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-161041 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1), and an example in which safety is considered in the case of a collision between a person and a display device is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-97098 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 2).
In the conventional display device opening-and-closing system for use in a movable carrier as disclosed in Patent Document 1, shaking of the movable carrier is detected, and when at least a certain amount of shaking of the movable carrier is detected, the holding state is changed. Thus, deviation of the display device from the view position can be prevented.
However, only the shaking of the movable carrier itself is detected, and impact to the display device is not detected. Therefore, although normal operation can be maintained under a shaking state, it cannot be detected that at least a certain amount of force has been applied to the display device located at the view position, from behind the display device.
Therefore, it is impossible to alleviate impact of a colliding person or any other colliding object. Further, the display device may be damaged.
Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that, when a predetermined amount of force is applied to the display device, the display device is detached from a driving mechanism by means of a slipping clutch so as to freely swing.
Thus, in the event of collision of a person against the display device, the slipping clutch is operable to retract the display device, thereby absorbing some amount of force.
However, depending on shaking of a movable carrier, the display device is automatically stowed when no person collides against the display device. In order to prevent the display device from being stowed due to the shaking of the movable carrier, retaining force needs to be increased, so that the impact of a colliding person is also increased. Further, the display device may be damaged.
Namely, the conventional openable and closable display device which is mounted to the cabin top inner surface portion of the movable carrier cannot be designed such that the display device is held in the view position even under a certain amount of shaking, while the display device is closed into the stowage position for safety when at least a certain amount of force is applied to the display device located at the view position, from behind the display device. That is, these contradictory operation specifications cannot go together.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device opening-and-closing system which is used for a display device designed so as to open and close between a stowage position and a view position, and which is capable of not only holding the display device in the view position even under a certain amount of shaking, but also causing the display device to be stowed for safety when at least a certain amount of force is applied to the display device located at the view position, from behind the display device. This type of display device opening-and-closing system can be realized by using a swinging support device of the present invention the application of which is not limited to display devices.